Five teenagers have been killed and four other people seriously injured in a head-on collision involving two cars on the M9 motorway in County Kildare, Ireland.
Gardaí said the crash happened at about 3am on Sunday near junction 3, close to Athy, after emergency services received reports of a vehicle travelling southbound on the motorway’s northbound carriageway.
The five victims, all male, died at the scene. Their bodies were taken to Naas General Hospital, where postmortem examinations were due to take place.
The occupants of the second vehicle, three women and a boy, were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Two women in their 30s were taken to Tallaght University Hospital in critical condition, while another woman in her 20s was taken to St Luke’s General Hospital. The child was taken to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin in Dublin.
Garda commissioner Justin Kelly described the collision as “horrific”. He said wrong-way driving on motorways was dangerous and that, in some cases, it had been carried out for social media likes.
The incident has been referred to Fiosrú, the police ombudsman, limiting the details Gardaí can release while inquiries continue.
The crash follows another wrong-way collision on the M50 in Dublin last weekend, in which nine people were injured.
Gardaí have appealed for witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage to contact them.
